Requiem Aeternam Deo - A Play For Everyone & Nobody March 22, 2007

Experience the earthy, ritualistic spectacle of Requiem Aeternam Deo: A Play for Everyone & Nobody, written & directed by Fulya Peker. Staging the death of God, this Middle Eastern woman blends Eastern and Western traditions to explore the necessity of creating new values in the midst of such social and religious crises.

Based on Graham Parkes’ momentous new translation of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, this expressionistic work reaches out to breathe with the spectator, opening up possibilities for discovery through the experience of a communal journey, which may in fact inspire its audience to gain what Emerson called “an original relation to the cosmos,” and dissolve the borders of east and west in theater. To hear Nietzsche’s words spoken aloud is to realize once again what a truly lyrical writer he is, that, in fact, he is one of our preeminent poets, a sculptor who has transfigured words and made music of them.

A captivating fusion of painting, dance, music, and ceremonial rites, Peker’s Requiem evokes the spirit of Butoh and Grotowski and is ripe with a sense of the earth. Requiem Aeternam Deo is a timely and provocative play which expresses with real force the need for sacredness in an open universe not constricted by monotheistic laws or man made borders. In our tempestuous religious epoch, this work addresses some of the dangerous trials we are engaged in. Experience the Eternal Requiem now!

“He saw with eyes that saw everything; he saw the depths and grounds of the human.”

Zarathustra, the awakened one, through whom a god dances, will bring his sacred and secret gift to humanity: an eternal requiem for God.

Will man become ripe enough to witness his woe in the very naked eyes of Zarathustra, and laugh? Will he endure the continuous bewilderment of overcoming fear and pity? Will he become child enough to create beyond himself and thereby perish?

When the time comes, will we be ready to take off our shoes and feel the earth?

This is a confrontation with the idea of being a part of and being apart from the sacred eternity.

Ms. Peker is a Turkish-born poet, actor, playwright and director. She is a 2003 graduate of Ankara State Conservatory, Turkey, with a BA in Drama, and has received her MA in Theatre, Literature, History & Criticism from Brooklyn College (2006). Requiem Aeternam Deo constitutes her US directorial debut.

Look for David Kilpatrick’s interview with Fulya Peker in the April issue of The Brooklyn Rail and for Horst Hutter’s interview with Graham Parkes on Nietzsche and Thus Spoke Zarathustra on the NC website.

Requiem Aeternam Deo will run from March 22, 2007 to April 15, 2007, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3:00pm, at the The Kraine Theater, 85 East 4th Street, between 2nd & 3rd Avenues, First Floor (no wheelchair access).

On March 25th, the day of the Annunciation of Christ, there will be a talk-back with Peker and Nietzsche scholar Graham Parkes, whose translation the play is based on. There will be other special events on Fool’s Day and Easter.

Tickets are available at the theatre the night of the performance or in advance through SmartTix.com. Tickets are $15 or $10 for students with valid ID. The performance is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes.

For further Press info Contact:
Rainer Hanshe: goatvines@hotmail.com
Executive Director, Nietzsche Circle
or visit http://www.nietzschecircle.com
For tickets: http://www.smarttix.com

Official Website: http://nietzschecircle.com